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Often practiced in a group, tai chi offers social as well as health benefits.

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If you’ve been out early on a weekend morning sometime, you’ve probably seen people in a park doing the slow, unified movements of the exercise method tai chi. It may look complicated, because there is a prescribed series of steps, but once you’ve tried it a few times, it’s actually not hard to catch on. And the benefits can be significant, especially for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

What Is Tai Chi?

People in China have been doing tai chi (the second word is pronounced chee, the Chinese word for the life energy believed to flow through the body) since the 12th century. According to the American Tai Chi and Qigong Association, the movements of tai chi are modeled on the flexibility and suppleness of animals such as the tiger, snake, and crane.

How You Do It

The specific actions that make up tai chi are called forms. Each form comprises movements that slowly flow from one leg to the other, creating alternating feelings of “full” and “empty” sides. (The arms also take specific positions.) Forms are often named for the animals they’re mimicking, such as "White Crane Spreads Its Wings."

Meditative Movements Boost Health

The three major components of the tai chi forms are all believed to contribute to its health benefits: movement, including balance and strength from shifting the weight between your feet; deep breathing, which brings fresh oxygen into the body; and meditation, keeping your concentration inside yourself as you do the slow moves.

Gentle but Effective Movements Are Key

“Tai chi is a masterful exercise because it works on your balance and core strength in a gentle, low-impact, go-at-your own pace way,” says Genie Lieberman, an occupational therapist and the director of the Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida. Weight shifting also benefits people with rheumatoid arthritis, Lieberman says, because it gives your muscles the memory to catch yourself if you happen to step wrong and stumble.

The Meditative Qualities That Make Tai Chi Helpful

Michael Irwin, MD, is a psychiatrist and the director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California in Los Angeles whose own study published in the journal Sleep found that tai chi improves sleep quality in older people with moderate insomnia. He believes the meditative component of tai chi may confer most of the benefits found by researchers. “My view is that tai chi is working like mindfulness training in targeting the stress response pathways that regulate much of our physiology, and that, left unchecked, can lead to the activation of inflammation and a heightened perception of pain,” he says.

Find an Experienced Teacher

The NCCIH says that tai chi and the related exercise qigong is generally a safe practice. After getting your physician’s approval, be sure to seek out an experienced, qualified teacher who understands your condition. Talk to the teacher before the class about your needs, and ask how any potentially problematic movements might be adapted for you. Although there are books and videos on tai chi, it’s best to find an in-person class so you can learn to do the forms precisely.

As tai chi has gained popularity in the United States, classes have gotten easier to find. Senior centers, recreation centers, and health clubs may have classes. Your local Arthritis Foundation office might be able to direct you to a program. You can also check the online listing of classes and instructors maintained by the American Tai Chi and Qigong Association.

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